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One significant challenge that many small business owners have is finding the necessary capital to get started. After opening for business, there may be a need for additional financing to expand or in these recessionary times, to maintain operations. Other concerns may relate to the ability to get financing with a less than favorable credit history. There are a variety of loan programs available through federal, state and local level agencies that can help. At the federal level, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has a number of loan programs and state level agencies in South Carolina such as the Business Development Corporation and Business Carolina are additional options. At the local level, the Appalachian Council of Government’s Revolving Loan Program is available for businesses in the Upstate South Carolina area. Since some programs have restrictions on the use of funds, geographic location, type of business, etc. it’s important to research programs thoroughly and have a current business plan ready to submit with a loan application. Some programs may also have a job creation requirement tied to the amount of money borrowed. The lists of loan programs available through the ACCESS web site summarize a number of these options. Go to the “Planning Your Business Page” and select “Identify Funding Sources” to get a copy of the lists.

While many small business owners would prefer to have a grant as opposed to a loan, unfortunately there are no grants available through the City of Greenville. Given current economic conditions nationally, conventional loans may be more difficult to obtain; however, alternative resources such as those described above are a good place to start looking for the financing needed.